Best of ‘05
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December 31st, time for everyone’s best-of lists. Corrales-Castillo definitely simplied the task this year, and the classic fight dominates my list even more than some others out there. Two more cents for the pile:
Fight of the Year
Corrales-Castillo I: Nothing to say that hasn’t already been said.
Fighter
Diego Corrales: I’ve got to give it to Chico for two reasons. First, he won the fight of the year (maybe the fight of the decade) with an instant-classic finish after 9 of the most amazing rounds boxing fans have ever seen. More importantly to me, though, was his conduct before and after his second fight with Castillo. He didn’t dodge a rematch, he didn’t pull out when Castillo opted not to make weight, and he didn’t make any excuses after he got dropped in the 4th.
Runners-up
Ricky Hatton: The stunning win over Kostya Tszyu makes him the consensus pick for FOTY, and he gets huge props for taking on and beating a very dangerous Carlos Maussa only 6 months later.
Jermain Taylor: No one wants to give this poor guy credit, but he beat one of the greatest middleweights of all time — twice.
Jeff Lacy: Left Hook silenced any doubters, proving he’s one of the most dangerous men in boxing with KOs of Rubin Williams, Robin Reid, and Scott Pemberton. No resting on his laurels, either — he’s already scheduled the supper middle champ Joe Calzaghe in March.
Jorge Arce: Fought 4 fights against strong opponents in ‘05, including a minor classic against Hussein Hussein. Absolutely destroyed Hussy in the rematch.
Best Round
Round 10, Corrales-Castillo I: Doesn’t get any better.
Knockout
Corrales-Castillo I: Lamon Brewster’s first round KO of Andrew Golota, though awesome, falls under the category of “Who cares?” at the end of the day. I didn’t see Allan Green’s 18-second destruction of Jaidon Codrington, but that one’s in the same boat for me. For those that take issue with picking a TKO, I’ll offer up Castillo’s KO in the rematch. Watched that one in person, and even from the cheap seats it was pretty badass.
Upset of the Year
Roman Karmazin UD over Kassim Ouma: There was talk that The Dream was sick for this bout, but after watching his fight against Kofi Jantuah I wouldn’t have thought it would matter.
Runner-up
Zahir Raheem over Erik Morales: Raheem may go on to prove that this wasn’t such a big upset after all, but Morales got a shocker if he thought he was taking a break after Pacman.
Trainer
Dan Birmingham: All Jeff Lacy and Winky Wright do is win. He could be TOTY with one of them.
Runner-up
Freddie Roach: He trains James Toney and Manny Pacquiao, but Freddie’s pretty much always in contention for TOTY just for having the rarest of qualities in boxing: he’s bullshit-free. Case in point, after Bobby Pacquiao won the decision in a fight he clearly lost to Carlos Hernandez, Roach admitted his fighter stole one. Class act.
Recommended Reading/Listening
These lists abound, but here are a few good ones from guys that have seen a lot more fights than yours truly:
DanRafael, ESPN.
David Avilia, Maxboxing.
Doug Fischer and Steve Kim, Maxboxing. (MAXTV)
John Gregg, The Boxing Times.
The Eastside Crew (Paul Ruby, Michael Montero, et al.), East Side Boxing
